In moderate climate zones, utility meters, particularly water meters, are located in subsurface enclosures in areas near residences or other dwellings. Such enclosures are referred to as “pits.” An example of such enclosure is illustrated in Cerny et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,298,894, issued Mar. 29, 1994, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In these systems, a transmitter or transceiver, and an associated antenna, are enclosed in one or more sealed enclosures which are located in a larger pit for the water meter. The antenna must be assembled in a housing in which the electronics are encapsulated for moisture protection. The assemblies for the transmitter and antenna must be fairly compact to be mounted inside the pit enclosure. However, generally, the encapsulant should not contact the antenna and it may alter its performance due to capacitive effects of a dielectric material.
The invention provides an antenna for radiating at a specified frequency and sufficient gain to transmit signals to receivers in fixed networks as far away as possible for the available power. Typically, the transmitter assembly is powered by one or more batteries. Prior antennas have been able to transmit satisfactorily up to about 0.5 mile. With the antenna of the present invention, it is to increase this distance up to about 1.0 mile.
Therefore, the invention will enable one to provide an improved antenna in a transmitter assembly for installation in a subsurface enclosure.